5 Cars For Your Teen Driver

You have dreaded this day for 16 years, your teenager is now a licensed driver…

You remember what you were like at that age, and that probably scares you the most. Will she obey the speed limit? Will he check his blind spots? Will my baby be safe?

Today, your teen can drive a much safer car than the one you had as your first vehicle. However, you want to make sure you choose the best one. 

Highway safety officials recommend heavier/bigger vehicles to be chosen for a teen’s first car. Small cars, or big SUVs should be avoided,  but midsize sedans are the perfect choice because they are not so big that they will roll over, yet are heavy enough to keep their ground.

New model, midsize sedans have a lot of modern safety features. Some technology features that AAA suggests you keep in mind for your teenager are:

• A warning system that notifies driver when they are about to collide with something. Some vehicles even have emergency braking systems that react faster than a human could.​
• An emergency notification system that automatically notifies authorities when an accident serious enough to deploy the airbags occurs.
• A rear facing camera that allows drivers to fully see behind them.

We couldn’t agree more here at Lesueur Car Company, so we selected five cars from our inventory that meet all the safety standards. All five have earned five star safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We want to help keep your teen safe! 

1: 2016 Honda Accord

The Honda Accord is one of the best reviewed cars on the market. Many fall in love with its high quality/roomy interior. The 2016 Honda Accord comes with a rear facing camera, Bluetooth phone and streaming audio (so your teen won’t have to touch their phone at all), collision warning with automatic emergency breaking, blind spot warning, and road departure intervention- which prevents the car from drifting off the road entirely and overcorrecting. The Honda Accord was also awarded the IIHS Top Safety Pick + in 2016.

At Lesueur Car Company, we have the 2016 Honda Accord for just $23,777. 

2 & 3: 2016 Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima

The Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Optima are basically fraternal twins. Neither one is the most luxurious or flashiest, but they are both sleekly designed, and more importantly, equipped with a lot of safety technology features.

It’s no question why both of these models earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ status; they both have emergency notification systems that alerts authorities if an accident occurs, hands-off smartphone integration and an alert system that notifies you when your teen goes over the speed limit, stays out past curfew, or leaves an area you designated. Some believe that these features can be a little overbearing; however, they might make you sleep a little better at night.

At Lesueur Car Company the 2016 Sonata is $15,999, while the 2016 Kia Optima is $19,297. For the money, you can't beat these cars in terms of safety. 

4: 2016 Toyota Camry

Like the Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry is a great choice for your teen driver. Its spaciousness makes up for the lackluster exterior. Safety features for the Toyota Camry include blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alerts, lane departure warning, front collision warning with automatic emergency braking, rear facing cameras and a safety system called Safety Connect that bundles an emergency assist button, automatic collision notification (to emergency services) and a stolen vehicle locator. The Camry also earned the IIHS's Top Safety Pick+ award. You can drive away today with a 2016 Toyota Camry Hyrbrid for just $20,000. 

5: 2016 Volkswagen Jetta

The Volkwagen Jetta also earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ designation award; however, this organization rated its collision warning and automatic breaking systems less capable than those of the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima. Other safety features include automatic crash notifications, roadside assistance and remote vehicle access- which allows your teen to lock or start their car through an app on their smart phone. Like the Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata, the Jetta also has the ability to send notifications when your teen exceeds a set speed limit or ventures out of a designated area.

At Lesueur Car Company, you can drive away in this Jetta for just $17,000.